Cash-carrier



(No Model.)

D. E. KEMPSTER.

CASH CARRIER.

No. 361,702. n Patented Apr. 26, 1887.

N, rimas. Phommwmpw, wmmngmn, n. c

ing specification, and illustrated in the accomand heretofore in similarsystems for storerily increase or diminish the friction ofthe mov-`UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.,

DANIEL E. KEMPSTER, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

CASH-CARRIER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 361,702, dated April26, 1887.

Application filed February 3, 1886.

.To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DANIEL E. KEMrsTER, acitizen of the United States,residing at Boston, in the county of Suolk and State of Massachusetts,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Cash and ParcelCarriers for Store-Service, Src.; and I do hereby declare that the sameare fully described in the followpanying drawings.

My invention relates to improvements in cash or parcel carriers forstore-service, Sto., in which a caror carrier is caused to traverse asuspendedvwireway or overhead track from station to station by animpetus given said car or carrier by the operator at said station.

Overhead wireways or tracks, both horizontal and inclined, and trucks orcars traversing the same, propelled by gravity or an impetus given saidcar at its station, are old and well known devices in mechanics fortransporting various kinds of commodities,

service it has been found necessary to provide each station with aprojecting spring or send-off device, also a spring-buffer to ease theshock or blow when the car or carrier is stopped at the station, andalso to provide a catch or a spring-coupler at each station to engaget-he car or carrier and prevent in a measure the recoil of the latterafter striking the buffer. All of the devices used heretofore for thesepurposes are more or less objectionableas, for instance, the car orcarrier does not always strike the buffer with the same force, eventhough the spring or other send-off device be nicely graduated to givethe car or carrier at all times the same impetus, or even if soconstructed as to vary the impetus to approximately suit the load to beconveyed, yet the great difference in the Weight of the cash to becarried (ranging all the way from a ten-cent piece to several dollars insilver) must necessaing parts of the carrier to a greater or lessextent,as the casemay be, and therefore the carrier arrives at the station withan ever-varying momentum, and consequently the buffer and catch orcoupler at each station for preventing the recoil of the carrier must beadjusted so as to it arrives at the station with the least moment-um orheavily loaded, and when the car- Serial No. 190,676. (No model.)

to prevent the carriers from driving beyond their catches then theywould soon break themselves to pieces from the force of the blow.

Buffers have also been made in the form of a frictional brake at eachstation-as, for instance, when the carrier is caused by its momentum toforce or wedge itself between spring bars or under or over a spring orbetween a spring and the wireway on which it travels. Various ways ofcausing the carrier to gradually deliect a spring until the momentum ofthe former is overcome have been tried and are very good as far as theygo, which is, in stopping the car or carrier without shock or recoil;but in all such devices heretofore it has been' necessary for theoperator to expend a corresponding amount of energy or power to forceout the carrier from the frictional brake or buffer (when required toproject it to the next station) as was stored up in the momentum of saidcarrier, and which forced it therein. Now this of course is veryobjectionable, and it must bc apparent that the gradual deliection of aspring powerful enough to stop the momentum of the carrier within adesirable length of travel oi' the same by the wedgingin process mustnecessarily cause great friction and Wear on those parts in contact.

Now, therefore, the object of this, my invention, is to dispense withthe projecting devices, buffers, and catches now located at eachstation, and thus lessen the number of parts and cheapen the cost ofconstruction, as Well as dispensing with all the objectionable featurespointed out with relation thereto; and

the station to impel it to its destination, as distinguished fromimpelling the carriage by a continuously-acting force-as by gearing andweights or clock-springs, 8va-and, further- 5 more, saidimpelling-spring also acting to actuate a frictional brake, and thusdispensing with anyb'uffers at the stations; second, providing a /cashcar or carrier with a frictional brake, or means for automaticallychecking its momentum by a gradually-increasing friction on the wireway,and thus bringing said carrier .to a stop and holding it thereon beforereaching the end of the said wireway, and consequently without anyconcussion or recoil, and at the saine time sets its projecting springready for the operator to project the carrier back to its other station;third, providing a cash car or carrier with a gradually-increasingfrictional brake acting on thewireway,and arranged to be instantlyreleased from such contact, so that the projecting spring or device canstart to impel the carrier with the least possible resistancetoovercome; fourth, providing each station with a send-off or trippingdevice acting on the car or carrier brake, and operated by simply adownward pull on a cord; iifth, providing a hanger adapted forattachment to a wall or other vertical support, and having a swivelingbar or standard to which the suspended wireway is attached, whereby theparts may be readily kept in line, regardless of how much the saidwireways may diverge; and, sixth, the minor details going to make up thesystem as a whole, all of which will now be described and pointed out inthe claims.

In carrying out my invention I` prefer to construct it about as shownand described; but to a skilled mechanic it will be apparent that it canbe considerably modified without departing from the spirit of myinvention.

Figure 1 is a side view of my system, showing the stationsXand Y. Fig. 2is a plan view of the carrier and its wireway. Fig. 3 is a centrallongitudinal section of the carrier. Fig. 4 is an end View of thecarrier. Fig. 5 is a central cross-section of the carrier; Figs. 6 and 7,details ofthe carrier-brake orlocking device, showing it engaged anddisengaged from the wireway; Fig. 8, a detail view of the squareshankedeyebolt and its supporting standard.

Similar letters of reference indicate similar parts in all the views onthe drawings.

a is the wireway or track, upon which the carrierb travels. This way ispreferably a wire stretched horizontally between two points, as shown inFig. l, although it may be inclined, if so desired. It is strained tautand is elevated enough not to interfere with the free passage of personsunder it. The said wire goes through a passage, c, extending longitudinally through the carrier Z1, and is arranged as shown in Figs. 3, 6,and 7. The carrier is provided with glass bushings b', to lessen thefriction on the wire, and they are held fast on the carrier by metalferrules b thereon. Said carrier is also provided with a detachablereceptacle, b3, for holding cash or parcels, and

is provided with springs b* on the carrier for holding it thereon. Othersuitable means may be employed for detachably holding the cashbox on thecarrier. The carrier is also provided with a frictional brake orlocking-piece, b, pivotally attached to the'hangers b7 by its pivot b.Said locking-piece or brake has a V- shaped slot, bs, through whichpasses a wire bail, b,bent so as to freely swing between the hang ersbl. Said bail has attached to its ends the ends of a spring or elasticcord,b,which hangs in a loop or bight. The brake or lockingpiece b5 ismade in the form of a pivoted lever, one end of which is grooved to fitthe wireway and the other end forms a trip or trigger, all as plainlyshown in Figs. 3, 6, and 7 The V- slot bB is so constructed and arrangedin the brake-lever or locking-piece that when the spring-cord bm isunder tension, by being hooked over the projection or hook c of the barc, the brake-lever b5 is caused to engage or disengage the wireway a,according as the bail b is forced into one or the other positions in theslot bs, as plainly shown in Figs 6 and 7. A metal piece, b, is fastenedto the carrier b, just above the brake b5, and is grooved to fit thewireway, and thus assist in friction ally holding the said wirewaybetween the two hardened surfaces.

The bar c is arranged parallel, or nearly so, to the wireway a, and itis rigidly connected or made integral with an upright portion orstandard, c, which, when the station is located near the middle of theroom, is secured to the ceiling thereof, and is strengthened by the guyIOO a4, as shown at station X in Fig. l; but when the station is locatednear the side of the room, or near any vertical wall or support, thenthe upright standard c is pivotall y attached to a wall-bracket, ci,having one or more arms with bearings or boxes c, one of which may beprovided with a setserew, c5, for securing the bar c in line with thewireway a, however much said wireway may diverge from a-right angle tothe wall or base of the bracket c This facilitates putting up the wires,and dispenses with any alteration to the walls in order to have the barc in line with the wireway, as plainly shown at station Y in Fig. l.

The standards c of the bars c have each a square hole, through whichpass the square shanked and threaded eyebolts a, to which are attachedthe wireway a, kept taut by the nuts a3. By making the holes and shankssquare I am not liable to twist and break the wireway when tightening itup.

At the station X in Fig. l the bar c is provided with a slotted plate,d, adjustably scoured thereon by screws d. The lower extremity of saidplate d has a vertical slot, d, in which is a sliding nut, held fromturning therein by its sides fitting the slot. A slotted lever, d3, ispivoted on the side of the plate d by a shouldered screw, d, passingloosely through its slot d5, and its shoulders tightened against theplate (Z by the nut in the slot d.

The lever d3 is free to swing on the tightened IIO screw d", and itsthrow may be shortened or lengthened by slackening the screw d* andsliding the nut up or down, as required, in the yslot d. Y

The lever d3 has its upper end forked, and a small r'oll, d, is freelypivoted therein; also, about midway in the said lever is a screwstud,di, on which is freely pivoted a roll, d8, which runs in a cam-shapedslot, d", in the plate d. The lever d is swung by aspring, dl", into theposition where the roll dB is in the end of the slot dg nearest theprojection or hook c on the end of the bar c, which brings the roll dbelow the path of the carrier b.

A cord, e, having a ring or handle, e', is attached to the lever d, saidcord being led back toward the standard c, and passes ydown over 'agrooved pulley, cf', pivoted thereon.

The slot d9 is of such shape that, when the lever d3 is swung by pullingon the cord c, said lever first rises, being caused to do so by the rollals ascending the incline shown at the end of the slot, the lever beingfree to do so by its slot df. Then the upper end of the lever or roll dtravels in a line parallel, or nearly so, to the wireway, until itreaches the other end of the slot d, when it quickly descends. Onreleasing the cord, the spring d10 draws the lever d3 back into itsnormal position, as before described.

At the station Y in Fig. l the bar c, having the hook or projection cthereon, is provided with a sliding carriage, f, which is held uprightthereon by suitable means, in thepresent case the bar being squared forthat purpose. The carriage f has pivoted thereon a lever, f', both endsof which are forked and provided with pivoted rolls f f3.

One end of a spring, ft', is attached to the hooked end of the ba-r c,and the other end to a cord which passes around a small grooved pulley,f5, thence upward, and is attached to the lever f quite near its pivotor fnlcrum. This spring f* answers two purposes-one is to draw theleverf into a horizontal position or until the stop f strikes thecarriage, and thus brings the roll f below the path ofthe carrier Z1,and the other is to return the carriage f to its normal position.

A cord, g, having a ring or handle, g', is attached to the leverf inasimilar manner to the spring-cord, before referred to, only the saidoperating-cord -g is attached to the lever at a greater distance fromthe pivot or fulcruln of the latter, and thus exerts a greater leverage.Said cord g passes down undera grooved pulley, g, pivoted on thecarriage f,`and thence back towardthe standard c, and passes down over agrooved pulley, g3, pivoted thereon.

Adjustable collars or stops f7 f8 limit the sliding motion ofthecarriage f. Ascrew, fo, in the carriage f,lirnits the elevation of thelong end of the leverf and rollf, and an incline,

f1", on the collar]8 elevates the short end of the lever and roll f3,and of course depresses the opposite end of the lever and rollf.

Having described the construction of my device, the operation is asfollows: Assuming the carrier Z to havebeen projected byits spring 111from the station Y, it glides swiftly along the wireway a until the loopor bight of the aforesaid spring catches onto the projection c on thebar c, located in the path of the carrier b, at the station X. Thisswings the bail b9 around into line with the loop or bight of thespring, and as the bail is resting at the bottom of the V-slot in thebrake-lever it also swings the latter on its pivot and into contact withthe wireway, and as the momentum gradually increases the tension on thespring bw the brake is caused thereby to gradually increase itsfrictional contact on the wireway, and thus quietly bring the carrier toa state pf rest Without any shock or recoil, and the brake securelylocks the carrier to the wireway, all as plainly shown in Fig. 6. Thecash-box b3 may now be removed, its contents adjusted as desired, andthen replaced between the springs b4 on the carrier b.

If desired to forward said carrier to the station Y, itis only necessaryto pull down on the cord c by its handle c on the same. through theaction of the roll d3 traveling in the cam-shaped slot d, causes thelever d3 to ascend until the roll d is in line with the path traveled bythe carrier. Then said roll travels parallel, or nearly so, to thewireway and toward the carrier until it brings up against the trip ortrigger on the brakelever b5, as shown in Fig. l, station X, andcontinuing to travel vforces the trigger back into the position shown inFig. 7, which changes the inclination of the V-slot bt with relation tothe strained spring b, and this causes the bail b9 to change itsposition from the bottom to the top of the said slot, vwhich brings saidbail and spring in line with the pivot of the brake-le ver, and thusholds it in a vertical or nearly vertical position and ont of contactwith the wireway. Still continuing to draw down on the cord e, the caror carrier is forced back by the roll d against the hangers b7 until itsspring b10 is sufficiently strained to give the required impetus to saidcarrier, when the lever is caused to descend by the action of the rolland slot, before referred to,until the roll d clears the carrier and thelatter shoots toward the station Y. On releasing the cord e,the lever dis brought back to its normal position by its spring d1.

It should of course be understood that the time required to describethis operation of drawing down the cord ein nowise represents the actualtime required, as it is all accomplished in an instant by a quickdownward pull.

The operation at the station Y is very similar to that described withrelation to station X. As the carrier arrives, the loop or bight catchesthe projection and applies the brake on the carrier and stops it inposition on the wireway, as before described.

On drawing down on the cord g by its handle g', the lever f swings onits pivot until its shorter end strikes the stop fT on the carriageThis,

ICO

f, being caused to assume this position by the action of the increasedleverage of the point of attachment of the cord g over the point ofattachment ot' the spring f4 on the opposite end'of the said lever. Asthe cord continues to be drawn down, the carriage f travels along thebar c with the lever-roll f, in line with the path of the carrier, untilit releases the brake and forces the carrier back to give its projectingspring the proper tension, when the lever-roll f strikes and rolls upthe inclined face fw on the stop fs, and thus depresses the other end ofthe lever, so that the roll f clears the carrier I), and it is projectedbythe recoil of its spring bw, as before described. On releasing thecord g, the carriagef and lever j" assume their normal positions by theaction of the spring 4, as shown.

The degree of tension of the projecting spring before the release of thecarrier may be varied to suit the distance desired to be traversed onlines of different lengths by adjusting the throw of the lever d3 atstation X, and the same may be accomplished by adjusting the stops j" f8at station Y.

.It is apparent that the wireway may be e1ther horizontal or inclined,and that any number of said wireways may diverge from the cashiers deskor a central station and eX- tend to any and all points or stations in astore, and when it is considered that for every slngle one of such linesor wireways, by my system, I am able to, by embodying in the carrier allthe necessary devices, save one-half of the expense of the projectingsprings, buffers, and catches, that would otherwise occur 1f saidvdevices had to be provided at each station or end of the wireway orline, the simplicity and cheapness of my invention must be appreciated.

If preferred, the carrier may be drawn back by hand andthe trip ortrigger released by the finger, and thus dispense with all of thesend-off mechanism described for this purpose; also, the carriers may beprovided with wheels instead of the bushings, andthe springs may be madeof other material or iu a different form. Various changes can be made,if so desired.

I desire to claim- 1. The combination of the wireway a, the carrier b,the spring bl. the brake b5, and the projection or hook c',substantially as set forth.

2. The carrier b, having bushings I/,and ferrules b, as and for thepurpose set forth.

3.The carrier b, the projecting spring bw thereon, and brake mechanism,substantially as described, connected with said spring, in combinationwith the co-operating projection or hook c', substantially as and forthe purpose specified.

4. In a caslrcarrier apparatus, the combination, with t-he bar c,arranged parallel with the wireway, of the pivoted lever on said bar andconnected mechanism, whereby said lever is adapted to produce tension inan impellingspring located on the carrier, and then release saidcarrier, for the purpose set forth.

5. In a store-service apparatus, the comb1- nation, with a way, acarrier traveling thereon, and a projecting spring attached to saldcarrier, of a lever arranged to draw the c arrier back against thetension of said spring and means for tripping said lever so as torelease the carrier, as set forth.

6. In a store-service apparatus, the combination, with a way, a carriertraveling thereon, and a projecting spring attached to said carrier, ofa lever arranged to draw the `carrier back against the tension of saidspring, means for tripping said lever so as to release the carrier, andmeans for returning the lever to its normal position, substantially asset forth.

7. The combination, with the way and carrier thereon, of the bar c,arranged contiguous thereto, the cam-plate d, the lever d3, the cord c,and spring d1, all substantially as set forth.

8. The combination, with the way and carrier thereon, of the bar e,arranged contiguous thereto, the earriagef, the leverf, the stops fffs,the cord g, and springj, all substantially as set forth.

9. In astore-service apparatus, in combination, the line or way, thecarrier thereon, the frictional brake, and a projecting spring on thecarrier, means at the station for placing said spring under tension, andmeans for releasing it, for the purpose set forth.

l0. In a cash or parcel carrying apparatus, in combination, the wirewaya, the carrier thereon, the standard c, the square-sl'lanked eyebolt atherein, connecting said wireway and standard together, as described,and the wall-bracket c, having the boxes c, through which passes thesaid standard c, substantiall y as and for the purpose set forth.

Il. rIhe carrier adapted to move along a wireway and provided with amovable brake, b5, having a V-shaped slot, bs, combined with a bail, b",therein, the V-slot and bail'coac ing, whereby the brake is applied andreleased, substantially as set forth.

l2. In a store-service apparatus, the combination, With a cash-car, o1'a single brakelever-pivoted on said car, one end of which lever isadapted to engage the track or way, and the other end extended downwardas a trip or trigger, whereby the brake may be released by band orotherwise, substantially as set forth.

13. The cash or parcel car, composed of the body b, cash-box b", hangersIf, brake b5, bail b, and spring bw, all combined substantially as andfor the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

DANIEL E. KEMPSTER.

Witnesses:

HENRY GHADnoURN, Orr-is. H. Free..

Tlf)

